Envelope with a resealable inspection flap



Aug. 9, 1966 w. L. HIERSTEINER ENVELOPE WITH A RESEALABLE INSPECTIONFLAP Filed Dec. 23, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet l lA IVENTOl L Z fl/a/fer LMarsh/law."

lg BY A TTORNEV.

Aug. 9, 1966 w, 1.. HIERSTEINER 3,265,289

ENVELOPE WITH A RESEALABLE INSPECTION FLAP Filed Dec. 25, 1964 2Sheets-Sheet 2 nyvENTog. Ila/fer l, file/sinner 54mg yaw/am HTTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,265,289 ENVELOPE WITH A RESEALABLE INSPECTIONFLAP Walter L. Hiersteiner, Mission, Kane, assignor to Tension EnvelopeCorporatiomKansas City, M0., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 23,1964, Ser. No. 420,741 1 Claim. (Cl. 22-'80) This invention relates to ascalable envelope which,

aifter being sealed, is easily opened for inspection of its contents andrescaled without damaging the envelope.

Envelopes of this character are particularly desirable because somecountries require that envelopes be adapted to be opened for inspectionof the contents and be resealable after inspection. Heretotfore, theseenvelopes have been provided with closure flaps having a pressuresensitive adhesive of a type such that the closure flaps may be sealed,peeled open for inspection, and then rescaled.

Such envelopes are satisfactory when used in small quantity, but whenuse has reached a volume where an automatic inserting and sealingmachine is desirable, the envelopes are often too large to be handledwith an open closure flap, and it is not possible to machine-openfoldedover closure flaps of envelopes having resealable adhesive, nor toprocess the envelope with the flap extended.

It is, therefore, a principal object of the present invention to provideenvelopes of this character with an inspection flap folded and sealedwith resealable adhesive, and to provide an additional fl-ap withremoistenalble adhesive that may be easily handled in an automaticinserting and sealing machine.

However, there are production problems in making the envelopes, becauseboth types of adhesive must be dried before the flaps are folded.Standard envelope making machines are not equipped to dry sealingadhesives applied on two diiferently disposed flaps at the same time,for the reason that blanks from which the envelopes are formed areoverlapped in applying and drying wet sealing adhesive. Consequently, itis not possible to apply adhesive to lapped portions of the blanks.Therefore, it is necessary to run the envelopes through an additionalmachine to apply and dry one of the adhesives and to fold the flap whichis to be sealed thereby. This obviously involves an additional cost inmaking the envelopes. To avoid this difliculty, the present inventionprovides for applying the remoistenahle adhesive in the form of apregummed strip that is applied in a single run through .a standardenvelope making machine such as used in making envelopes having liningsor having Windows covered with a transparent patch cut from a roll andautomatically attached by adhesive which is applied to the blanks fromwhich the envelopes are formed. In making the envelopes in accordancewith the present invention, all that is required is to substitute a rollof pregummed tape for the roll of lining material or transparentmaterial. The adhesive used in applying the pregummed strip presents noadditional drying problems, therefore, only the resealable adhesive needbe dried before the blanks are folded into envelopes. Such machines arewell equipped for drying the resealable adhesive and folding and sealingthe inspection flaps.

Since the inspection flaps are folded and sealed in the envelope makingmachine and the envelopes are filled through an opening close-d by theclosure flaps having the pregummed strips, the envelopes are easilyhandled in an automatic inserting and sealing machine.

In accomplishing these and other objects of the invention as hereinafterdescribed, I have provided improved structure for an envelope ashereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings,wherein:

:FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an envelope constructed ice inaccordance with the present invention and showing the closure andinspection flaps in unfolded position to better illustrate theconstruction, and showing a part of one of the side flaps broken away toillustrate the adhesive by which the side flaps are connected together.

FIG. 2 is a perspective View of the upper portion of the envelopeillustrating the pregummed strip applied to the closure flap, with oneend turned back to illustrate the adhesive which secures it to the flap.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view through the envelope taken on theline 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the envelop-e with the inspection flapfolded and sealed and with the closure flap unfolded ready for insertionof an enclosure into the pocket of the envelope.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the envelope showing the inspection flappeeled open for removal or inspection of the enclosure.

Referring more in detail to the drawings:

1 designates an envelope constructed in accordance with the presentinvention and which includes rectangular front and back panels 2 and 3to provide a pocket 4 therebetween. The front and back panels areconnected along two side edges and open along the other two edges toprovide an insert opening and an inspection opening, respectively. inthe illustrated instance the back panel 3 is provided with side flaps 5and 6 that are connected to sides of the front panel by folds 7 and 8.The side flaps are of sufficient width to partially lap one another andbe sealed together by adhesive 9 (FIG. 1). The insert opening,designated 11 and the inspection opening, designated 11, are formedbetween the other edges of the front and back panels.

The inspection opening 11 is closed by an inspection flap 12 that iscoextensive thcrewith and which is connected with enact the panels, forexample, with the front panel 2, by a told 13 whereby the inspectionflap 12 is folded over the inspection opening 11 and secured to the backpanel 3 by means so that the flap 12 may be opened and r-cclosed,particularly by a resealable adhesive. Such an adhesive when driedadheres only to itself and, therefore, the inspection flap 12 hasadhesive applied thereon in the form of a stripe 14 having an exposedsurface that contacts a similarly exposed surface of an adhesive stripe15 located near the marginal edge 16 of the back panel and in a positionfor the exposed surface of the adhesive '15 to make a seal with thesurface of the adhesive 14 .upon folding over of the inspection flap 12for closing the bottom of the pocket. The adhesive may be of the latextype that provides the resealable characterisic after the adhesive isdried.

-In the present invention one of the panels has a closure flap 17coextensive with the insert opening 10 to fold thereover and seal withthe other panel. -In the illustrated instance, the closure flap 17 isconnected with the front panel 2 by a fold 18 and folds over the backpanel 3. The closure flap 17 is sealed by means of a remoistenableadhesive 19 on a strip20. As illustrated, the gummed strip is secured tothe inner face of the closure flap 17 by an adhesive 21. The closureiiap 17 may be folded over the back panel 3 without making a sealbecause the adhesive 19 on the strip 20 is dry when the strip 20 isanplied and does not seal until it is moistened. If desired, the closureflap 17 may be left unfolded as shown in FIG. 4.

Envelopes as described may be completely made upon a standard envelopemaking machine equipped for applying patches to envelope blanks.Consequently, they can be produced at low cost without the productionproblem-s encountered when the sealing adhesive must 'be dried on twodifferently disposed flaps. Since the adhesive on the pregummed strip isdry when cut from a roll of gummed tape and secured, only the adhesivestripes 14 and 15 need to be dried during manufacture of the envelopes.

T-he envelopes of the inspection type constructed as described may beeasily handled in automatic inserting and sealing machines. The closureflaps 17, if folded, may be automatically opened, an enclosure insertedthrough the insert opening into the pocket 4, the adhesive 19 on theclosure flap 17 moistened, and the closure flap 17 brought into sealingcontact with the back panel 3 to make a seal therewith.

To make an inspection, the inspection flap 12 is raised to peel thesurface of the adhesive stripe 14 thereon from the surface of theadhesive stripe 15. After inspection of the enclosure, the inspectionflap 12 may be easily rescaled 'by refolding the flap 12 to bring thesurfaces of the adhesive stripes together and pressing the inspectionflap to the back panel 3 of the envelope.

When the envelope is to be opened, the inspection flap -12 may be peeledopen to remove the enclosure in the same manner as when making aninspection.

From the foregoing, it is obvious that the envelope of the presentinvention provides for easy inspection of the contents without danger ofdamaging the envelope or the contents, and may be resecured as before.Also, the envelope is adapted to be used in automatic inserting andseal-ing machines.

The seal of the inspection flap of the present invention offers nointerference with insertion of an enclosure either by hand or by use ofan automatic insertion and sealing machine.

It is to be understood that the present drawings illustrate thepreferred form of the invention, but that the insert and inspectionopenings may be located between any two edges of the panels, and thatthe flaps, therefore, may be connected by folds with either one of thepanels.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

An article of manufacture comprising:

an envelope including substantially rectangular front and back panelsconnected along two edges to provide a pocket bet-ween said panels andopen along the other two edges to provide an insent opening and aninspection opening, respectively,

an inspection flap integrally connected with one of the panels along anedge adjacent the inspection opening by a fold line and overlying aportion of the other panel,

correspondingly located pressure sensitive resealable adhesive on saidportion of the other panel and said inspection flap, respectively, andhaving the adhesive sunfaces in sealing contact and forming a releasableand resealable adhesive seal, and thereby closing the inspectionopening,

said contacting surfaces of the adhesives being peelable from each otherto release said flap for inspection of contents of the envelope and to:re-establish the seal when said surfaces are in contact upon reclosingof said inspection flap,

a second flap connected with one of the panels by a fold line along anedge adjacent said insert opening and extending parallel to said firstnamed edge, said flap being adapted to be folded in overlying relationto said other panel to close said insert opening and [being providedwith a strip of dry moisture soluble adhesive capable of permanentlysecuring said flap to said panel upon moistening of said adhesive.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,972,995 9/ 1934Irrgang 229 2,063,999 12/ 1936 Harrison 229-48 2,109,583 3/ 1938 Bennett22948 3,062,371 ill/1962 Patience 206-632 3,154,239 10/1964 Madsen229-62 JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner. D. M. BOCKENEK, AssistantExaminer.

